Friday night, Baxter left with a shoulder injury after a catch against the wall that helped save Johan Santana’s no-hitter. (Neil Miller)

Ray Baxter makes the drive from home to Citi Field in six minutes. He never misses a home game and the chance to see his son Mike play for the Mets.

Heaven isn’t so far away, after all.

“It’s just a phenomenal experience,’’ Ray Baxter told the Post.

Heaven is going to have to wait at least six weeks because of injuries Baxter suffered Friday night to his collarbone, sternum and ribs as he crashed into the wall to make a painful catch for the ages to save Johan Santana’s no-hitter against the Cardinals.

“Mike’s hurting pretty bad,’’ Ray said yesterday. The kid from Whitestone, Queens, who is hitting .323 overall and .444 as a pinch-hitter, paid the price with his body.

Watching Mike do so well, though, was an early Father’s Day present for Ray.

“I’m like a little kid,’’ Ray, 56, said earlier this week. “Every time I come to the game it’s amazing to see my son playing for the Mets.’’

When Mike Baxter returns he will continue to give up his body for his team. That’s who he is as a player and a person.

“Seeing someone who wasn’t always touted as the best player on the team, working hard to get where he has gotten today,’’ Ray said. “Michael is the type of guy, if you give him a shot, over time, when people get to see his work ethic, his game really shines.’’

Yes, it does, never more so that on Friday night.

“The Mets organization as a whole, have been so wonderful to us,’’ Ray added. “They’ve opened up their hearts to us and made us feel extremely comfortable. Getting us the passes and greeting us and everybody saying hello to us. We couldn’t ask for better. Playing for the Mets has made Michael’s career extremely nice but it has made our family experience just tremendous.

“It’s great to come to the ballpark to see your kid play, but when you come to the ballpark and see that you are part of their family, it’s just like an extended family.’’

Ray Baxter, his wife Maureen and their family are living the dream, too. Mike loves playing in front of family — Mom, Dad, his sister Clare, grandmother Susan and other relatives.

Ray, a general manager of a wholesale distributor for auto body supplies based in Flushing, prefers to watch games in person while Maureen, who is a civil employee with the fire department, comes to Citi Field when she can, but enjoys seeing games in HD at home and listening to how the action unfolds, Ray said.

Maureen and Ray have been married 32 years and go to St. Luke’s Parish in Whitestone every Sunday.

They grew up in Woodside and made sure that Mike and Clare, 24, a former junior college All-American swimmer, also played organized basketball in their old neighborhood.

“We wanted them to see how we grew up,’’ Ray explained. “We’re proud of both of our kids and we’re fortunate to have a wonderful daughter-in-law in Diana. The love we get back from our kids is unbelievable.’’

Mike, who played at Vanderbilt, and his wife Diana live in Nashville in the offseason, but you can’t take Whitestone out of the kid.

The Life of Baxter is pretty special.

“It’s just a dream come true playing for the Mets in front of my family,’’ Mike said, 27. “I take a look every night to make sure they are up there. It’s such a unique opportunity to play in the major leagues in your hometown. I remember going to Shea Stadium with my dad, and him kind of taking care of an usher and us always getting us good seats. John Olerud was my favorite Met, such a well-balanced left-handed hitter.’’

Olerud hit .315 his three years with the Mets in the late 90s.

Said Ray, knowingly, “They have the same swing, short to the ball.’’

This is not just a story about a local kid, persevering, playing the game right and being rewarded with a chance to play for his hometown, backyard team.

Mike Baxter made the most of this unique opportunity. He’s here to win, and all you have to do is watch him race down the first base line every time he put the ball in play. His hustle double in Tuesday night’s 6-3 win over the Phillies was a key play. Baxter plays the game right.

“He’s saved us, got huge hits for us,’’ Terry Collins told me in the Mets dugout. “His preparation and concentration have been tremendous. When you look at him on the bench in the game, he is really into the game. For a young player to do what he is doing is amazing.

“Sometimes, it can almost be a detriment playing in front of your friends and family because there are distractions, but he’s handled it great. He’s so down to earth.’’

The lefty-hitting Baxter has been a phenomenal pinch-hitter for the Mets, but with Jason Bay injured, he had done the job as a starter against right-handers as well. That doesn’t surprise Jack Curran, his legendary coach at Archbishop Molloy High School. Baxter was his shortstop and the team won the Catholic High School Athletic Association’s City Championship as a senior at Shea Stadium.

“Mike was a low-maintenance type, team-oriented player,’’ Curran said, noting that Ray Baxter played against Archbishop Molloy when he was a student at Mater Christi, which later became the new St. John’s Prep. “You never had to tell Mike anything. He was always doing it before you told him. When I think of Mike, I think of Ray. After games I’d come out of the locker room after getting changed and Mike would be on the field taking ground balls from his dad, which was great. He has a great relationship with his dad.’’

Mike played travel baseball for the Bayside Yankees, and Ray said it was Maureen who took on the tall task of getting him to his amateur games. He played Little League in Bayside at a field known as Valle East, named after the father of former major league pitcher Dave Valle. Valle caught 13 years in the majors with Seattle, Boston, Milwaukee and Texas. Baseball was a community affair in the Valle household.

“My dad was the All-Star coach every year and we had a batting cage in my backyard, the old Iron Mikes,’’ Valle said. “The whole league would come to my house; it was called ‘Chicken Coop Stadium.’ ’’

Valle’s father John died when Dave was only eight. He is so happy for Mike and Ray that father and son get to share this special bond of playing baseball in your major league backyard.

“I always wanted to come home and play and never had that opportunity,’’ Valle said.

This opportunity came about because the Mets claimed Baxter off waivers from the Padres last July 22. general manager Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta, the Mets VP of player development and amateur scouting, knew Baxter from their Padres days when Baxter was selected by San Diego in the fourth round of the amateur draft, Alderson’s first draft with the Padres. So when he was made available by the Padres, the Mets scooped him up. The Padres, who are embedded in last place this season and have the worst offense in the majors, had no clue what they had lost, giving Baxter only eight major league at-bats.

Padres’ outfielder Will Venable was roommates with Mike in the minors. Venable’s dad Max played 12 years in the majors as an outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Giants, Reds, Expos and Angels.

“Baxter has always been so professional, not just the way he hits, but in the way he prepares, the way he works, the way he behaves, he’s just been just a very smart, mature person that I’ve learned from,’’ Will Venable said. “I consider him one of my very, very good friends and also someone I respect a lot as a baseball player. I didn’t think he ever got the respect he deserved as a player, from Day 1 the guy could just hit and hit. I’m happy now that not only he’s found a nice spot here, but that he’s home, too. People are starting to realize he’s a player. It’s not by accident he’s a great kid, he was raised right. I miss him.’’

A few weeks after being claimed Baxter was making his Mets debut on Aug. 8, doubling as a pinch-hitter and driving in a run, against his old team, the Padres. Of course, Ray was up in the stands watching. “That was the most rewarding thing in the world,’’ he recalled.

Two days later Mike made his first career start, also against the Padres.

“It’s not always the best player with the most talent that makes the game, if you follow your dreams and work hard, you can get there,’’ Ray Baxter said with the look of fatherly pride. “And that’s exactly what this is.’’

Sometimes, the dream is derailed by injury, but Mike Baxter will be back and his father once again will be making that six-minute ride from home.